Before They Were Heroes
by Sara Jaye
Summary: A collection of backstory vignettes for various characters from the anime. A mixture of canon and pure speculation.
1. Ash: Your Father's Son

Every day he grows to look more like his father.

Delia sighs as she watches Ash run around in the yard, he and Gary are playing with their Pokemon toys and pretending to be world champions again.

"One day I'm gonna be a Pokemon master just like my dad!" Ash crows, and Delia's heart rends. He's five years old and he still believes his father is on a grand Pokemon journey, that one day he'll come home famous and tell them stories about his battles and victories.

_Oh, Ash..._

She looks at the newspaper clipping from four years ago and her eyes fill with tears. _Jonas Asher Ketchum, 1965-1991_. He'd died on Mt. Silver in Johto, both from the cold and from various wild Pokemon attacks. He'd underestimated just how strong the Pokemon were.

"Always so headstrong," she whispers, and every day it's just one more way Ash resembled him. She remembers the letters, the tattered travel diary. He was going to make it big, he said, he wanted them to live in the lap of luxury. _You'll see, Delia_, he wrote, _everything's going to be better than ever when I come back, and I'll be the kinda father our little boy can be proud of!_

She wants to tell him, she knows if she keeps letting him believe his father's still out there, it's only going to hurt more when he learns the truth. But how do you tell a five-year-old his daddy's never coming home?

"I'll tell you when you're old enough," she decides, filing the newspaper clipping away in the locked drawer where she keeps all the photos and mementos of her life with Jonas.

Outside, Ash and Gary continue to run around in the sunshine, their eyes wide and their dreams big. Jonas would be so proud of he could see him now.

_You'll be a master someday, Ash._

*

Author's Ramble:

This is based on the novelization by Shudo Takeshi, which says that Delia married a wandering trainer who left on a journey after Ash was born and never came back, but it also incorporates some personal canon. I think that Ash's father had plenty of experience as a trainer, but only as a wanderer; he wanted to be "good and ready" before he challenged the Gym Leaders and the Pokemon League and spent years exploring Kanto and Johto, getting in tune with Pokemon, etc. But before he challenged Pewter's gym leader (presumably Flint), he died. My theory is that he was just as headstrong and hot-blooded as his son turned out to be, and got himself killed by jumping into a dangerous situation without thinking. Even though personality traits don't have to be inherited, Ash had to get his hot-blooded ways from someone and Delia's pretty level-headed and sensible.

Makes sense to me, anyway. The canon explanation didn't fill in _all_ the gaps, after all.

The name Jonas Asher is a reference to The Giver. I just thought it fit. *shrugs*


	2. Misty: Sisterly Love

When I was four, my parents died in a shipwreck. Three years later, I learned the truth.

My sisters were always picking on me, so I wouldn't put it past Lily to say what she did just to be mean. But even at seven I could recognize the pain in her eyes, and her voice almost sounded apologetic.

"Mom and Dad faked their deaths and ran away because they didn't want a fourth kid. But it's not all your fault...they're the ones who left, after all."

Of course I hit her and called her a liar, but she didn't try to fight back. Later I overheard her talking to Daisy and Violet; they were all crying and I knew it was true. At least them not blaming me helped a little.

I wish I could say it brought us all closer together, but that only lasted a little while. They got older and prettier, I stayed young and plain, and by the time I was ready to go on a Pokemon journey I swore up and down I wouldn't miss them one bit.

But things change, people grow. Once I'd gotten settled into my new role as full-time Gym Leader and they got back from their trip around the world, it seemed like suddenly we could relate to each other more easily. They still tease me, but I'm used to it now and I know it's just the way they show they care.

I still wish I could go back in time and never find out the awful truth about my parents. It hurts knowing they'd go to such great lengths to get away from us...Lily, Daisy and Violet pretend they've forgotten, but every now and then I catch the wistful look in their eyes. Lily remembers Mom's favorite food, Violet has Dad's sense of humor and Daisy puts out a vase of flowers every year for their wedding anniversary. Sometimes they tell me stories...they don't want me to hate our parents, even if what they did was the worst.

Maybe one day they'll even come back to us and we'll be a family again. But right now I'm just glad I have my sisters.

*

Author's Ramble:

For this one I went with pure speculation. We never really get any mention of Misty's parents in canon as far as I know-if there's something I missed feel free to tell me! But years ago my theories were a) She and her sisters were orphans or b) Parental abandonment. In this case I wanted to explore the latter.

Misty's parents are...human, in this scenario. There's no excuse for them ditching their children, but they married young and had kids sooner than they expected, and didn't realize just how not ready they were. As for Lily telling Misty the truth, a common trope in media is for the older siblings to blame the youngest when a mother dies in childbirth or a parent leaves the family. Or, sometimes older siblings will say mean things just to make the younger ones cry. In Lily's case both are subverted: The truth hurts her, Violet and Daisy just as much, but they don't really blame Misty. Canon shows them giving her a hard time, but they do love her, so it wouldn't make sense in this "what if" scenario to turn their typical sisterly teasing into real cruelty.


	3. Brock: How to Make Friends

"Oww! Dad, I don't think he likes me very much," Brock groaned, picking himself up off the floor. Flint laughed nervously, he hadn't expected the pokemon to be _this_ playful...at least, he _hoped_ Onix was only playing.

"He's just getting used to you, son," he said. "Don't worry, I'm sure in no time you two will be best of friends." If the birthday present he'd given his son turned out to be a violent beast, he'd spend the night kicking himself. Brock nodded, ran a hand through his spiky hair and approached Onix once more.

"It's okay," he said, "I just want to get to know you. I'm going to be your trainer and I want us to be a team!"

_Thud!_

"Oh, come on!"

Flint sighed.

"It did take me a while to catch him, come to think of it," he muttered, wondering if he should have gone to a Pokemon breeder instead and picked up a more docile creature. "I'm sorry, son, I didn't think he'd be this difficult."

"No, Dad, it's my fault. I guess I just don't have what it takes," Brock sighed, shoving a hand into his pocket; his fingers suddenly closed around something soft and smooth and he gasped. "Hey, I forgot about these!" A little girl had given him a handkerchief of berries a few days ago, and what he hadn't eaten and shared with his brothers and sisters he'd left in his pocket.

_This just might work._ Carefully, he scooped up the berries and set them down on the floor. "Here...you want some of these?"

He jumped back as Onix made a beeline for the fruit and gobbled it up. When he finished his snack, he nuzzled his head against his trainer's shoulder as gently as a huge rock snake could.

"Hey, Dad! I think it worked!" Brock laughed, and Flint smiled, relieved that he hadn't made a terrible mistake after all. "Hey, maybe he smelled the berries and was trying to get them and that's why he knocked me down!"

"It could be, son!" Flint chuckled, coming over to ruffle Brock's hair. "I think you'll make a fine Pokemon trainer, you just have to learn to trust yourself, learn to be more in tune with your Pokemon."

Brock nodded.

"Thanks, Dad. This is the best birthday I've ever had."

*

I deliberately didn't make mention of eggs here, since they were introduced in the G/S canon timeline and I momentarily forgot if that was when it was discovered Pokemon lay eggs or not. If anyone knows for sure feel free to set me straight, lol.


	4. Ash and Gary: Divorce Stinks

"My folks got a divorce," Gary said. "Mom left this morning."

"Oh." Ash kicked at a pebble. "Sorry about that...um, so you're staying with your Dad then, huh?"

"I dunno. He's still thinking about taking that job in Saffron," Gary sighed. "If he does, May and I are gonna stay here with Grandpa."

"Well...that's not bad, then! Professor Oak's really nice," Ash offered, trying to inject some optimism into the situation. Gary gave him a half-appreciative half-smile.

"I guess." He pulled at a few blades of grass. "I wish Mom would stay, though. I thought maybe now that she and Dad weren't together and fighting all the time she wouldn't be so distant with me and May."

"Yeah, that's rough," Ash said, though he couldn't really grasp the idea of a mother being so cold to her kids. His own mother loved and supported him to the point of being overprotective sometimes..._Maybe I shouldn't complain about it anymore_, he thought, feeling sorry for Gary and May.

"May's taking it hard, she's been begging Dad not to go to Saffron. She loves Grandpa, but her and Dad were always really close," Gary continued. "I think she's gonna go with him if he does leave, and I don't want her to! Then I'll be all alone!"

"No you won't! You'll have Professor Oak!" Ash said.

"But he's got his work, and I don't wanna get in the way," Gary said. "Sheesh, this divorce business really stinks!"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "They shouldn't put you and May through all this, it's not fair!"

"I'm trying to talk to May and Dad but I'm just a kid so they're not listening. Grandpa says whatever happens happens...I feel like I got no one!" Gary folded his arms over his chest, and Ash moved closer.

"You got me," he said. "And my mom."

Gary bit his lip, trying not to cry.

"I guess."

"Mom says when my dad went on his journey, Professor Oak helped her out a lot. She says he used to bring you over to play with me while he helped her take care of the house," Ash said. "I bet Mom would wanna pay him back for it."

Gary sighed.

"I guess...I mean, if you guys really wanna help. Don't give us stuff and come over just cause you feel sorry!" he warned. "I'm six whole years old, I'm not a little baby like you were when your dad left! So don't act all sappy or I'll pound you, got it?"

"I know, I know," Ash said. "Gee, you're sure getting all puffed up about this!"

"I'm just sayin'," Gary muttered, but he couldn't help smiling. "...thanks. You're...you're okay, Ashy." He jumped up, brushing dirt from his clothes. "Come on, let's play Pokemon Battle! My Bulbasaur's gonna beat up your Pidgey!"

"You're on!" Ash cried as they ran into the house.

*

Author's Ramble: I got the idea for divorced Oak parents from an RP I did with a friend, along with the idea of Gary's mother being cold and distant.

I actually liked writing Gary as being self-centered here, with the "this divorce stuff isn't fair to me" and Ash being selfish on his behalf. They're six (at least in my imagined timeline of the stuff canon doesn't fully explore), so how can they fully grasp what the adults are going through?

This is also where I figure Gary started getting a little cocky in general, though not when their friendship started falling apart. Things would definitely be strained between them since Gary's going through a lot and might lash out, but I figure the real rivalry didn't start until they were anticipating getting their trainers' licenses. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that.)


	5. Tracey: Worship Begins At Home

My take on Tracey's life before he met Ash and Misty. His parents are named for a Young Couple in the Sinnoh games, and "Ken" is short for Tracey's Japanese name.

* * *

Mike and Nat Sketchit were the biggest Pokemaniacs on Tangelo Island, and everyone knew it. They'd made a name for themselves as freelance scientists, and from an early age they encouraged their sons Ken and Tracey to learn everything they could about pokemon.

"Look, boys! Those wild Nidoran are gathering berries!" and the boys would yawn and scoff and ask if the family could do something else for once. Ken was the type who thought he was too cool to get excited, and Tracey could never sit still or concentrate on one thing for very long.

"Boys!" Nat cried. "Professor Oak of Kanto is on TV, he's talking about his latest research findings!"

It was just a TV show, but the moment he saw the professor's face and heard his voice, something changed. The formerly hyperactive five-year-old was suddenly focused completely on the professor, hanging on his every word with unusual fascination. Even when the show ended he still sat there, almost as if in a trance.

The next day, Tracey took a pad of paper and some crayons out into the yard and sat on a pile of grass to watch the wild pokemon at play. His first sketches were sloppy and Ken made fun of him for hours, but Tracey just went outside again the next day. And the day after that, and after that.

As he grew, so did his artistic capabilities and admiration of Professor Oak. By this time Ken had matured a bit and though he still teased his brother, he was at least more supportive. And by the time Tracey was old enough to have a pokemon and go on a journey, he'd found his life's goal.

"I'm going to be the world's best pokemon watcher," he said. _And someday, maybe I'll even meet you, Professor Oak._


End file.
